Through Documentary Films

Co-POWer, funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) via the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), saw a group of female professors from nine UK universities work together to explore well-being and resilience in BME families and communities, who have been particularly impacted by the pandemic.

The project investigated this impact through five research streams, based at different institutions.

USW’s Co-POWer team, led by Professor Florence Ayisi, employed creative practice research methods to produce real stories; co-creating and producing documentary films which highlight the lived experiences of several groups and individuals.

One of the documentary films, Plant Power, has been screened in the UK and at international film festivals. The film focuses on Judith and Amrish, who re-discover the healing power of plants during the Covid-19 lockdown – a time marked by fear, death, upheaval, isolation, and loneliness. Its initial screening in Bristol inspired many young people to plant their own rose bushes after seeing the film.

A celebratory screening of Plant Power will take place on Tuesday 29 October 2024, at Cardiff campus, starting at 3pm, followed by the screening and Q&A from 5.30pm. Book your place here.

A screening of Plant Power will also take place on Friday 15 November 2024, at Docklands Community Centre in Bristol. A creative gardening workshop will be held at 3pm, followed by the screening and Q&A from 6pm. Book your place here.

Another of the films, Belonging, focuses on the young people in the Tiger Bay Boxing Club, and features Vaughan Gething, Minister for the Economy of Wales, as part of his constituency is in Butetown. Belonging will have a special screening on 31 October at Senate House, Royal Holloway University of London.

Earlier this year, Prof Ayisi and her team attended the Co-POWeR conference policy brief launch at Portcullis House, Westminster, where the project presented its policy recommendations.

The team presented a 15-minute film showing excerpts from full-length documentaries, which include incidents of police brutality, wrongful arrests, and the death of an individual due to contact with the police. It also showed the ways in which the pandemic has affected diverse communities, including young people and the elderly, as well as the challenges and prejudices experienced by frontline healthcare workers.

Prof Ayisi, who worked with Research Fellows Dr Wendy Booth and Emyr Jenkins on the project with support from freelance creative artists, presented the policy recommendation for USW’s research stream. The recommendation was for the provision of creative opportunities for those from BME families and communities to allow them to fully participate in the creative arts as producers and consumers, by developing creative arts programmes, schemes and facilities that are accessible and inclusive to all ethnic groups and communities.

‘’This action will ensure that the arts are used to empower BME families and communities through positive narratives, and will improve representation and visibility. Such positive narratives engage and de-stigmatise vulnerable youth, and also promote the vivacity and vitality of civil society.’’

“The co-creating approach of the Co-PoWeR project was a gift to research participants who shared their personal stories of the Covid-19 pandemic through the form of documentary film.”

The USW Co-POWeR team hope that the creative outputs of the project can be shown to public service professionals, as part of decolonising the curriculum and supporting an anti-racist agenda.